The Grenada gazette., 1887-10-01
UNCLE SANS BOOKS.
R.ns-Ash,s Inerease Of Useless Govern
ment Publications.

Remarks able Insreaso 0f Useless dovsrn
ment Publications.
Books! Books! Books every where
but nothing to readi' exclaimed
Government official as he called tn
attention of a visitor to a big pile o
books just received from the Govern
ment Printing Office.
.Their appearance is attractive
suggested the visitor. smiling at th'
poetcal paraphrase of his friend.
''Yes. they look very we'll on tn
outside" he assented. "but, like th'
apples we used to read about and lik'
these, to our dismay. we discover
after we have bitten into a rosy
cheek, they have nothing inviting OF
attractive within the covers. v
4Iu other words. they are Govern
ment publications. remarked re-
porter, who overheard the converse
ton.
"That is it exactly said the off
cial. Those words are becoming
synonymous with stupidity and a
dreary wastc-stale. fiat and unprofit'
able. 1t used to be, when people
wanted figure for supreme dullness.
they spoke of the Patent Office re-
ports. but now the Government publ.
cations are likely to take the place.
They arn't any worse than they use
to be. observed the reporter
perhaps not said the off cial.
gently signing, 'but there are more of
them. The annual reports are increas-
ing in bulk. and there are publications
of all kinds and every description.
The bureau officers have the elaborate
reports now. and some of them are
Illustrated; tho clerks write essays, and
they are printed. There is great
printing-prcss constantly at work. and
any quantity of white paper is wasted.
Every thing is printed. There is no
check or balance. Il is free press
with a vengeance, and, as long as it
costs nothing. no one is going to take
any trouble to condense or abbreviate
matter for the printer. 1t is much
easier to print. The consequence is
that vast piles of material are thrown
into the Government printing office
hopper, and handsome books are
ground out by the million. Sometimes
there is no index. and sometimes dn in
complete index. A mass of undigested
stuff put together in very careless
manner.
"Now look at this biz volume" he
went on. picking up book lying on
his desk. THAT is only part of an an
nual report 1t is made up of long
tables Of no value, letters written by
citizens and official letters. long
disquisitions giving the views of
some men whose opinions are
entirely worthless, and so it
goes There Is no concise, orderly
statement of the facts. Ii you want to
know what has been done by any bu-
reau you have got to root around in a
lot Of stud, and as likely as not fail to
find the diamond you are after I
would rather take trip through Gem
tral Africa than try to make sum-
mary Of a government publication. and
| think that | would do the first with
considerable less fatigue and injury to
my health"
1T will be worse this year. The
bureau chiefs and every body else that
can possibly scrape together any thing
at all are now hard at work gathering
the trash. aud these reports, which are |
known to DO minor reports. are larger
in many instances than that of the
head of the department 1t is nothing
new. Why in 1885 Congress passed a |
law to check this very thing. and this
is what they enacted:
That it shall NOT he lawful for the head Of any
ExeeutiVe department, or OF any bureau, |
branch or Office OF the government to cause to |
be printed, nor shall the Public Printer print |
any document, or matter Of any character what.
ever except that which is authorized by law |
and necessary TO administer the public business,
nor shall any bureau officer embrace ia his an
nua or other report to be printed, any matter
not directly pertaining 10 the duties of his office
as prescribed by law.
What good did it do! NJ good. 1t
can't be stopped. 1t is madness, a
Kind of frenzy. There is an ambition
to make big books, and it can't be
" Wdshin1i0n Star.